Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCOS) is a technology commonly used to generate projected images, wherein liquid crystals within a LCOS display panel are controlled to affect reflectivity of lighted impinging onto a pixelated area, such that the reflected light forms a desired image. LCOS devices are becoming popular for use in projection televisions, for example. However, when the temperature is below a predefined temperature (e.g., seventy degrees Celsius), the liquid crystals are slow to respond to electrical changes, and performance (e.g., color rendering) of the LCOS display panel is not optimal. Incorporated herein by reference is a paper titled “854×600 Pixel LCOS Microdisplay with 5.4 uM Pixel Pitch for Pico-Projectors” by K. Guttag, J. Lund, and C. Waller of Syndiant Inc. 18325 Waterview Parkway, Dallas, Tex. 75252, USA which details the problems of LCOS based projection.
US Patent Application Publication Number 2010/0001943, titled “Heating System For Display Panel And Display Panel Using The Same”, filed Jul. 7, 2008, incorporated herein by reference, describes a prior art method of heating an LCOS panel wherein a heating element is incorporated into a substrate of the LCOS panel itself. However, positioning the heating element within the silicon substrate of the LCOS panel limits the voltage and power that may be applied to the heating element. For example, using high voltage/current and/or high heat dissipation within the silicon substrate of the LCOS panel may result in electrical interference with display operation and/or thermal damage to the silicon substrate. Thus, the temperature regulation achieved by this design is poor.